Updated Friday January 20, 2006

The 2005 General Assembly is now in session

Week 1 Update—January 14, 2005

The 2005 General Assembly session began Wednesday, January 12. The session runs 46 days and is scheduled to end on February 26. “Cross-over day,” the last day for each house to act on its own bills, is February 8. House and Senate amendments to the current two-year budget will be released on February 6.  

The House Education Committee is scheduled to meet on Mondays at 9:00 a.m. in House Room C and Wednesdays at 8:30 a.m. in the Appropriations Room.  The Senate Education and Health Committee will meet on Thursdays at 9:00 a.m. in Senate Room B.  Sub-committees will meet periodically throughout the session. Click here for a schedule of weekly meetings (Meetings)

Budget Issues

Amendments to the current two-year budget proposed by Governor Warner last month recommend 3% salary increases for state employees, state-supported local employees, higher education faculty and public school teachers, effective December 1, 2005. The legislature previously had set aside nearly $27 million for salary increases in the second year. The amount for teacher salaries ($54.8 million) represents the state share of a 3% increase, to be effective December 1 of this year. Language is included that the goal is to improve the average classroom teacher salary by 3%, but that the funding is not a mandate to increase salaries.

The proposed budget amendments also provide additional lottery profits to school divisions ($35.2 million over the two years). At least half of these funds must be spent on non-recurring expenditures. Recall that the budget approved this past spring used approximately $20 million a year in projected lottery profits to fund the SOQ prevention, intervention and remediation program (that figure has been lowered by about $1 million). An additional $20 million from the Literary Fund is included for the interest rate subsidy program for school construction loans. Funds for a state payment of 5 cents per breakfast for the school breakfast program (this will enable receipt of additional federal funding) also are earmarked. The budget provides an additional $1.4 million in FY06 for school efficiency reviews, including an additional position to ensure that the work done by consultants meets the contract requirements of the reviews.

Also proposed are additional funds for the Department of Education (DOE) to conduct academic reviews of school that have been “accredited with warning,” as the number of such schools has increased due to the phase-out of provisional accreditation. Additional dollars are provided for the “Race to the GED” program and for the Education for a Lifetime program, partly to reflect the costs of supporting the turnaround specialists program. Additional funds are proposed to develop a program in conjunction with the Virginia School Boards Association to better equip school board members to address low performing schools. Additional federal funds for the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act also are appropriated in the budget. Finally, budget language establishes the Department of Education as the fiscal agent for receiving federal funds for special education medical services provided by school divisions to Medicaid-eligible children. The amendment is necessary to meet federal requirements.

The budget for public education also includes a number of technical adjustments that decrease state payments for the Standards of Quality (SOQ) and incentive programs. Most significantly, those include changes to account for lower, projected student enrollment (decreased by over 18,000 students) and less participation by local divisions in the at-risk four-year-old program. Click here for additional information about Governor Warner's proposed budget amendments (State Budget)

 

Education Legislation

Many education-related bills already have been introduced and printed. Here are some of the highlights. Additional legislation will be summarized in next week's report.

HB 1573 requires Board of Education (BOE) guidelines on student dress codes to prohibit dress that may prompt school violence or gang activity.

HB 1589 and HB 1658 permits local school boards to provide transportation for nonpublic school students to and from nonpublic schools.

HB 1592 and HJ 561 direct the BOE to seek a waiver from provisions of the NCLB Act that that duplicate the state’s established educational accountability system.

HB 1731 directs the Virginia High School League to provide for participation in interscholastic activities by nonpublic school students.

HB 1762 and SB 779 contain changes to the SOQ as recommended by the BOE.

HB 1771 amends the SOQ to require employment of school operations and business managers, who would be responsible for certain administrative functions at the school.

HB 1912 requires the BOE to include provisions in guidelines for reciting the Pledge of Allegiance to address parental notification or consent for minor students who decline to stand for or recite the Pledge.

SB 713 requires employers to permit employees to take up to four hours of leave annually to attend or otherwise be involved in their child's school.

SB 747 requires BOE regulations to address childhood obesity and requires local superintendents to have instruction or training on the causes and consequences of being overweight.

Please contact CEPI if you have any questions or need additional information about the 2005 General Assembly.

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